Crowded field eager to replace Baca, reform Sheriff’s Department

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Reform-minded candidates eager to step into Sheriff Lee Baca’s shoes at the helm of the nation’s largest sheriff’s department are faced with several major issues that have tarnished the agency’s leadership over the past several years.

Specifically, whoever succeeds Baca must deal with the fallout from the indictment of 18 current and former deputies for an array of crimes, a Justice Department investigation in 2013 that found deputies made unconstitutional stops and used excessive force against minorities, and questionable hiring practices that brought deputies with criminal records into the department.

Baca’s announcement Tuesday that he would not seek re-election has provided an opening for several candidates to join an already crowded field planning to run in the June 3 primary election.

Those who already have declared include Patrick Gomez, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant; Bob Olmsted, a retired sheriff’s commander; Paul Tanaka, a former undersheriff; and Lou Vince, a Los Angeles Police Department detective supervisor and sheriff’s reserve deputy. At Tuesday’s news conference at Sheriff’s Department headquarters in Monterey Park, Baca said Assistant Sheriffs Todd Rogers and James Hellmold were strong candidates to replace him.

Others may decide to run, such as Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who long has been long rumored as a possible candidate for sheriff.

Among the candidates who have declared intentions to run, Tanaka is viewed as a top contender. Tanaka served as Baca’s No. 2 for two years before retiring in August amid rumors that he had been pressured out by Baca.

He disputes all claims that he had a role in an inmate abuse and corruption scandal that recently resulted in charges against current and former sheriff’s officials. An independent county commission, however, said that Tanaka, who as undersheriff had responsibility for the jails, encouraged a culture of brutality in the jails and it urged his firing.

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Tanaka, who is the mayor of Gardena, blamed problems in the jails and other recent controversies on Baca’s leadership. “My track record will show that at no time in my elected or law enforcement career did I ever condone or tolerate use of excessive force by deputies, or any misconduct by deputies or government,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

“The Sheriff’s Department needs a change of leadership at the top,” Tanaka said. “Like in your business, if your boss tells you to do something and, unless it’s illegal, you have your orders. If you don’t follow orders, you won’t be employed very long. The sheriff and I shared a lot of differences as it pertained to his management and leadership style.”

If elected, Tanaka said he would provide clear, consistent and sensible direction for a department that he contends is in “disarray.” Tanaka said he and Baca differed on a “system of accountability,” and claims his critics have been politically motivated.

A 33-year veteran of law enforcement, Tanaka said he would update the department’s standards to ensure that everyone hired “has a lifetime of demonstrating that they are of the highest character and conduct.”

Olmsted, a Long Beach native and 32-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, helped start an investigation into use-of-force within Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s jails three years ago.

Olmsted said he will “go in and clean house,” taking out the top brass he feels allowed a culture of corruption to flourish within the department. In particular, Olmsted called Tanaka part of the problem.

“We’re not going to solve the problem with the same leadership,” Olmsted said. “They are part of the problem. The public’s safety is not going to be compromised. We need absolute change.”

Olmsted called Baca’s retirement a necessity if the department is to address issues pertaining to personnel and alleged corruption. “I see this as almost being inevitable,” he said.

Rogers, who is in charge of administration and professional standards as well as serving as the vice mayor of Lakewood, said he would file papers to run for sheriff and his “calling card will be a return to the basics.” The 28-year veteran of the department blamed its problems on a “catastrophic failure of leadership.”

“Those leaders are now gone,” Rogers said. “We need to set (the) standard, we need to walk the walk, and we need to ensure accountability throughout our command staff and every member of this organization. That’s the only way we’re going to fix it, the only way were going to regain the public’s trust.”

During his nearly three decades with the Sheriff’s Department, Rogers served six years as captain of the Carson station.

Hellmold said he was caught off guard at the sheriff’s mention of him at Tuesday’s news conference and was still contemplating whether or not to run, saying it would be a decision he would have to make with his family’s backing. He has been with the department for 25 years and is in charge of its Field Operations Regions, Detective Division and Homeland Security Division.

“I don’t talk politics. My focus is crime fighting,” Hellmold said. “I’m already in a position where I command all patrol and deputy detective operations. I’m not a skilled politician. What I am is a crime fighter.”

Hellmold spent time at the Compton station as a sergeant and was promoted to the rank of captain and commanded the Century City station.

McDonnell, who was appointed as Long Beach police chief in March 2010, served 29 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, where he was second-in-command under Chief William Bratton. He has received numerous community and department awards, including the Medal of Valor, the Police Department’s highest award for bravery.

“I am humbled to have my name mentioned in connection with this position,” McDonnell said in a statement Tuesday. “I will be making a decision about my candidacy in the very near future.”

Gomez retired from the Sheriff’s Department in December of last year but decided to run for sheriff because he believed Baca has “allowed misconduct to flourish during his 15 years as sheriff, threatening people’s public safety,” according to his candidate statement. The 31-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department vowed that no one within or out of the department would be above the law.

Vince, who has spent the past 17 years working for Los Angeles law enforcement agencies, asked voters in a statement to “please, think long and hard about what it would mean to have a reform-minded sheriff lead the LASD into the 21st century and not just have him replaced by another failed LASD career manager to maintain the status quo.”

Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Terry Hara is reportedly considering running for the position. Hara joined the LAPD in 1980 and is the first Asian-American to reach the rank of deputy chief within the Police Department.